CPPIB buys stake in OMERS office real estate portfolio

CPPIB buys stake in OMERS office real estate portfolio

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is buying a 50-per-cent stake in a portfolio of office properties in Toronto and Calgary owned by OMERS’ Oxford Properties Group for US$1.18 billion. The portfolio of seven buildings covers 4.2-million square feet of downtown office space, including the Richmond-Adelaide Centre in Toronto and the Centennial Place and Eau Claire Tower in Calgary.

Financial Post – Globe and Mail – CoStar Group

National Defence’s facility falls short on security

The new $1-billion headquarters of the Department of National Defence, a 10-building complex in an Ottawa suburb, is not secure enough to house top secret intelligence because the facility at the old Nortel campus does not meet the exacting security standards of Canada’s international intelligence allies.  The first wave of 3,400 military and civilian employees is scheduled to move in November.

Globe and Mail

A bold national action plan for energy efficient buildings

Eleven organizations are calling on the federal government to improve the energy efficiency of Canadian buildings. The organizations, ranging from think tanks to architecture and builders’ associations, say the improvements are needed to help the country meet its 2030 climate target set out in the Paris Agreement.

Sustainable Biz Canada

Real estate gets starring role in S&P 500

The first reboot of S&P 500 Index group weights in almost two decades has arrived, shaking up stock portfolios and conjuring an industry out of REITs that will infuse at least one lightweight ETF with sudden riches. Index overseers are breaking the stock market’s model of the financial industry in half, dividing REITs from banks and brokerages and giving them their own slot in the S&P 500.

Globe and Mail – REIT reclassification good news, BMO says – Globe and Mail

SFU campus has become Surrey’s calling card

In 2002, Surrey was still largely considered a cast-off bedroom community of commuting workers and retirees. That year, Simon Fraser University (SFU) established its first temporary campus space in the downtown core, with about 230 first-year students joining 282 former Technical University of British Columbia undergrads.

Business in Vancouver

What happens to cancelled condo projects?

From Ben Myers, SVP Market Research, Fortress Developments: I was discussing the number of upgrades we’re getting from purchasers at our Collier Centre project in Barrie with my wife the other day. I told her almost all of the buyers the previous developer of the project had deals with have re-upped with us. We purchased the Collier Centre development, which failed under the previous ownership.

Fortress Real Developments Blog

Cara to acquire Original Joe’s

The Original Joe’s, State & Main and Elephant & Castle restaurant-bar chains will be acquired later this year by Cara Operations Ltd., which sees an opportunity to increase its presence in Western Canada. Cara will pay $93 million for a majority stake in Original Joe’s Franchise Group Inc., which will remain under its current management and keep its corporate head office in Calgary.

CBC – Montreal Gazette – Calgary Herald

Lululemon Athletica to open smaller hyper-local stores

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU-Q) will open up smaller, “local” stores as the athletic wear company works to optimize its neighbourhood strengths across North America. The infill stores will range from 1,000 to 2,000 square feet in size, slightly smaller than its average store footprint of 3,000 square feet and up.

Financial Post – Vancouver Sun

Wal-Mart cutting about 7,000 back-office store jobs

Wal-Mart (WMT-N) is cutting about 7,000 back-office store jobs over the next few months as it centralizes its invoice and accounting departments, expanding a test it announced in June. The nation’s largest private employer said Thursday that the cuts will take place in all its namesake store.

Montreal Gazette

Dollarama mulls e-commerce presence with focus on bulk sales

Dollarama Inc. is exploring whether to offer its merchandise online as it acknowledges the limitations of its bricks-and-mortar stores in serving the needs of certain shoppers. The Montreal-based dollar-store chain, Canada’s biggest with 1,051 locations, gave more details Thursday on its thinking about a potential e-commerce presence.

Globe and Mail – Toronto Star

Private equity firms to bid for McDonald’s North Asia stores

Private equity firms Carlyle Group and TPG Capital have teamed up with two separate Chinese state companies to bid for McDonald’s outlets in China and Hong Kong in a deal worth between $2-billion and $3-billion, four people familiar with the matter said.

Globe and Mail

Montreal’s Olympic Park will get new, more efficient energy system

Montreal’s Olympic facilities overseer will inject tens of millions of dollars to make the Olympic Park more energy efficient, Radio-Canada has learned. The Régie des installations olympiques (RIO) is partnering with the city to gradually replace every component of the current system, including ventilation, refrigeration, heating and power generation.

CBC.ca

Ottawa the right spot for Andaz’s Canadian debut

Cultural vibrancy – and the high number of visitors to the city – are what attracted boutique hotel brand Andaz to Ottawa, the first in Canada. “Andaz works best in vibrant, locally-focused, culturally rich communities and we feel like Ottawa is all those things,” says Matt Graham, the general manager of the Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market.

Ottawa Business Journal

Growth fees on new Winnipeg development necessary

A consultant’s study has concluded Winnipeg isn’t recovering the cost imposed on civic services from new development and is recommending a series of growth charges to lighten the financial burden on property taxpayers. Two reports from Hemson Consulting make the case that Winnipeg hasn’t been able to construct the infrastructure it needs because it doesn’t have the funds.

Winnipeg Free Press

Dartmouth Coast Guard base to be converted into ocean innovation centre

A former Coast Guard base will soon be reborn as a world-class ocean research centre thanks to nearly $20 million in federal and provincial cash. The newly established Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship is envisioned as a base for global leaders in ocean science and research working together with start-ups, research and development firms, industry and universities.

The Chronicle Herald

Market Trends and Research

Hotel industry gearing up for banner year in 2017

With visits to the capital expected to be up by about 20 per cent in 2017, hotels in Ottawa say they’re already gearing up for their busiest year ever. “We’re seeing much more interest around the Canada Day weekend but we’re also seeing interest around all of next summer for individual guests to travel,” says Ross Meredith, the general manager of the Westin Ottawa.

Ottawa Business Journal

Watch for changes to Canada’s biggest ETF

Canada’s biggest exchange-traded fund will be shaken up should a new industry classification result in companies such as Bombardier Inc. and BlackBerry Ltd. being booted out of an index tracking the country’s 60 biggest stocks. That’s because the iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF, Canada’s largest with a market capitalization of $12.8-billion, lists no real estate stocks among its 60 members.

Globe and Mail

Commercial real estate index hits record high

A closely watched barometer of commercial real estate action has hit its highest level in history according to the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA).  BCREA’s Commercial Leading Indicator (CLI) increased 1.7 index points in the second quarter to a new high of 122.2, up 2.2% compared to the second quarter of 2015.

Business in Vancouver

Workers at downtown Montreal hotels to join Sept. 9 strike

Montreal hotel workers plan to join strikes that will disrupt activities in a number of hotels throughout Quebec Sept. 9 including employees at the Marriot Château Champlain, Hôtel des Gouverneurs de la Place Dupuis, Bonaventure Hotel, plus the Quality Inn in Pointe-Claire, and the Hilton in Laval.

Montreal Gazette

Real Estate Companies

Park Lawn acquires remaining interest funeral homes

Park Lawn Corporation (PLC-X) exercised its right to purchase all the remaining outstanding shares in Amety Limited which owns Tubman and Cadieux funerals homes in the Ottawa, Ontario area and Outaouais, QC.

Marketwired

Boyuan initiates three new construction projects in China

Boyuan Construction Group, Inc., (BOY-T), a growing construction company in China of commercial, residential and municipal infrastructure projects, has initiated construction on two new residential projects and one new commercial project located in the Company’s headquarter city of Jiaxing.

Canada Newswire

REOC Financial Reports

	REITs & REOCs – Second-quarter 2016 report
	RENX has prepared a table with a convenient list of the companies and a summary of links to their second-quarter 2016 results. Have we missed any?

Canadian REITs & REOCs – Second-quarter 2016 report

Real Estate Investment Trusts

American Hotel Income Properties REIT promotes Ian McAuley to president

American Hotel Income Properties REIT ( HOT.UN-T) promotes Mr. Ian McAuley to the newly created position of President, effective September 1, 2016. He will report to Rob O’Neill, AHIP’s CEO. Mr. McAuley will be focussed on executing AHIP’s strategic plan and ensuring the organizational readiness to fulfill the company’s long-term objectives.

Marketwired

Allied closes strategic Toronto acquisitions

Allied Properties REIT (AP.UN-T) has closed the previously announced acquisition of properties in Toronto for $101 million.  Allied has completed $363 million in acquisitions thus far in 2016.

Marketwired

New Development

Montreal inaugurates Place Iona-Monahan to honour fashion journalist

They would pile into several limousines – models, assistants, photographers – and head to photo shoots at 6 a.m., the clothes and shoes having been prepared and packed late into the night before under fashion editor Iona Monahan’s watchful eye. “We had locations chosen but if we were going somewhere and she saw a street corner with great light she would say, ‘Let’s stop here, let’s do it now,’”

Montreal Gazette

Infrastructure

Edmonton transit infrastructure projects approved

Southside Edmonton residents will see construction on a new Heritage Valley park and ride next summer after a funding agreement was officially signed Thursday morning.  The project is one of dozens of maintenance, planning and growth projects approved under the first phase of the federal transit stimulus package.

Edmonton Journal

Sustainability

Other

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